The Profile Book – right, where do I start? From the start would be best!

The publication was born from the initial platform that David Sinnet (Founder) had created. The pair of us were determined to create a platform that would help creatives share and promote their work with confidence and ease.

Within a short period of time we had a number of submissions, which was great however we still had a long way to go.

As my final year at Southampton University was coming to an end, this meant one thing – Final Major Project.

For me a number of emotions went through my head. The obvious one being that I had one last chance to really do something that I would enjoy, before the end of my uni-career.

As I have passion and a general interest in meeting new creatives, I thought it would be a great idea to combine my freelance work on Profile with my FMP.

Before the publication came along, I actually worked on a range of concepts for Profile’s existing site at the time. Whilst creating the concepts, the idea of creating a publication that would work in coherent with the online platform was something that I was keen to embrace. Within my line of work I am a firm believer that print and digital should compliment each other when possible.

So with a few weeks to go until the deadline, I decided to embark on this venture of creating a publication. In the past I worked on a publication titled, Plog Magazine with a small team of creatives, so using what I learned, I was able to put that into practice and create Profile’s first-ever publication.

The publication consists of 27 completely different artists and designers internationally, to whom I had the privilege of speaking to via email and Skype. I was also keen to get a special feature within the print. Whoever I chose I knew that I wanted the reader to be inspired by, and I had the perfect guys in mind!

Happy Accident Collective, are a lovely, yet cheeky, screen-printing duo based in Scotland. I conducted an interview with them, which gave the reader an insight into their work ethic. I wanted to keep the interview very lighthearted, and not too serious. The way I see it, we’re in the creative sector of the world so nothing should be taken too seriously.

In terms of inspiration for the publication, I have a massive collection of magazines and book, which I spent hours reading through. Also Pinterest is another great tool for inspiration, and especially in terms of Editorial Design.

I did face a number of difficulties within the process of the publication. One obvious factor being, funding! The one word that designers dread to hear.

Despite having a number of exciting thoughts and ideas, I had to be very conscious of how much everything would be. Right from the paper stock down to producing mock ups of the publication.

Luckily I came across a lovely set of printers based in Eastleigh called ImageWise. I lost count of how many times I drove down there for a talk with Patrick to discuss financial issues with print. What a top bloke!

Without a doubt ImageWise are a great company to work with. They even gave me two extra publications, which was lovely of them, and despite the cost not being cheap (which was to be expected), they did a smashing job.

Once the publication was done and dusted it was exhibited at my degree show in Winchester. A few who were featured came down, and I was able to grab a few snaps – It was a great day!

So what’s next?

Well David and I are also working alongside the brilliant minds of Nicola Manuel (Editor) and Sarah Benson (Online Editor) who work on Profile’s online presence, and what a great job they have been doing.

The website is growing nicely with nearly 300 submissions on the platform, Profile is moving in the right direction.

The team and I are focusing on two major things – creating a stronger platform for creatives, and perfecting the publication. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up-to-date with any recent posts or news.

You can read The Profile Book online here.

More: Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Want to read more blogs by artists? Look here.

Launched in Spring 2010 in Edinburgh, line magazine is a freely distributed, bi-annual publication and website that provides a platform for emerging artists, writers, critics and academics in the visual arts field. Each edition focuses on a theme, which is discussed throughout the publication.

The overarching aim of line is to expose and promote the work of young talent and to forge connections between the most interesting new and non-profit art spaces across the UK.

Line is produced by Thomas Carlile, Rachael Cloughton and Hannah Knights, who started the magazine three years ago whilst they were students at Edinburgh College of Art.

The next edition of the magazine ‘The Pleasure of the File’ will be out soon. This includes:

The tenth issue, The Pleasure of the File opens with an essay by Rachael Cloughton on Recent Re-navigations of the Archive. Georgina Bolton interviews artist Grace Schwindt on ‘un-doing systems’ in relation to her multi-dimensional performance and video work and Hannah Knights writes on the contemporary narrative of Anthea Hamilton and Helen Marten’s work in Image over Image. Sarah Hardie looks at Ed Atkins’s quest for the here and now in Warm, Warm, Warm Spring Mouths and  Elliott Goat studies the former mayor of Bogotá, Antana Mockus’ strategies for a democratic self-regulation. Dunya Kalantery opens the archive of the present-past in anachronistic architecture & the Janus face of progress and Joseph Constable considers the difficulties of curating Lygia Clark’s legacy. The lesser-known history of Glasgow’s cultural heritage is re-told in Neil Cooper’s essay Life in a Scotch Sitting Room – The Noise and Smoky Breath of The Third Eye Centre  and Joe Townend writes on artist Neïl Beloufa’s rhizomatic model of artistic production and ‘ethnological sci-fi documentaries’.

The issue’s visual contributions include newly commissioned work by artists Bruce Ingram, Oliver Smith and Charlotte Morgan and the designers and publishers An Endless Supply introduce their ‘Source Sans How To Work Together’ typeface in our Curator’s Page.

Featured Artists

Sophie Lee, Tom Nolan, Manuel Raeder, James Clarkson, Max Slaven, Jonathan Owen, Kai Althoff, Grace Schwindt, Oliver Laric, Artie Vierkant, Anthea Hamilton, Junko Otake, Tino Sehgal, Neïl Beloufa, Yael Bartana, Rosa Barba, Cyprien Gaillard, Nicolas Party, Amir Chasson, Nadja Frank, Saim Demircan, Jéreémie Ergy & Aurélien Arbet, Helen Marten, Florian Thalhofer, Alfredo Jaar, Susan Philipsz, Mark Leckey, Lauren Gault, Ed Atkins & many more.

Stockists

Glasgow: David Dale Gallery, Aye-Aye Books at CCA
Edinburgh: Rhubaba, Ingleby Gallery, Fruitmarket Gallery, Collective Gallery
Dundee: DCA Liverpool: Royal Standard
Sheffield: S1 Artspace Leeds: Mexico Projects
Birmingham: Eastside Projects Norwich: Outpost Gallery
London: Hannah Barry Gallery (New Bond St and Peckham), X Marks the Bökship, South London Gallery, The Woodmill
Bristol: Spike Island Southend-on-Sea: Focal Point Gallery

*each edition has a print run of 1,000 copies
**past editions of the magazine are all downloadable online at linemagazine.co.uk

- info@linemagazine.co.uk

More: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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Find more zines we’ve featured here.

What:
Aperture, a very busy not-for-profit foundation, is a multi-platform publisher connecting photographers and their audiences with the most inspiring work and the best ideas.

Aperture magazine publishes four issues each year and these are filled with the most inspiring photography and writing on photography. They also publish between twelve and fifteen new photobooks, and books about photography, each year, with a growing digital publishing program, including e-books, apps, and a daily blog, as well as online features on their website. They have thus far published over 650 books.

Aperture 208 Magazine, Fall 2012

Additionally, they have a regular program of exhibitions each year, at their gallery in New York and at partner venues, touring to museums and other photography centers nationally and internationally. In their shop, Aperture sell approximately twenty-five print editions each year, many by emerging photographers, aimed at collectors and published to support their programs, and the photographers they work with.

Why we like it:
As if all that was not enough, Aperture host an annual Portfolio Prize, recognizing and promoting the most exciting emerging photographers internationally, and Paris Photo, an annual PhotoBook Award recognizing the contribution of photographers’ books.

Aperture 208 Magazine, Fall 2012

Aperture are celebrating their sixtieth anniversary in 2012 with exhibitions, publications and a Gala. See here for more details.

Find out more:
Website | Blog | Twitter

What:
Salford Zine Library is a self-publishing archive which aims to share creative zines. There is no curatorship so the library is totally inclusive with over 1400 publications so far.

Why we like it:
The archive is open for all to contribute to. Find out on their website how to contribute your own zines. Their blog is also full of fancy zines for you to peruse here. Perhaps one will inspire you?

Find out more:
Website | Twitter

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For more creative delights we’ve Spotted on the web take a look here.

The idea came about when Andy McColgan (managing-editor of the Racket Racket online magazine and former station manager at Glasgow’s Radio Magnetic) met designer, Denise Ross (who runs web design company, IDENTI). Denise and Andy, essentially, combined their passion for music, and for Glasgow, with their complimentary talents fuelled by the love of the city and it’s music scene to collaborate on this new project.

Denise and Andy’s main inspiration for starting So & So was to shout about the city’s fantastic, unique and truly diverse and inspiring music scene whilst simultaneously producing a collectible and covetable series of publications. Issue 1 is out now and work on Issue 2 has already begun.

Andrew Pirie

Here’s the So & So intro:

We believe that alongside the digital world that we now inhabit there should always be a place for collectable physical publications that try and capture a time and place in history. We are passionate about music and are incredibly lucky to live in Glasgow, a city renowned for it’s vibrant and diverse music heritage. We want to celebrate and promote the people who make Glasgow such a great place to live.

We hope that So & So inspires others to take a leaf out the book of the people we have interviewed and get out there and involved in creative music related projects and pursuits.

In our inaugural issue we chat to a variety of people representative of the many facets of the Glasgow music scene. Visual artist Florence To, DJs and producers Brian D’Souza (Auntie Flo) and Esa, musician and lecturer Ken McKluskey, musicians Organs of Love and DJ and audiophile, Andrew Pirie.

Visual artist Florence To

Musicians Organs of Love

So & So has been designed and produced in Glasgow and printed on the finest paper from GF Smith. It is printed by J Thompson, and singer sewn bound by bookbinder Fraser Cameron.

You can buy a copy online here or in Glasgow at Good Press and Monorail (both part of Mono Cafe Bar, King’s Court) and in the Street Level Photoworks shop on King Street.

Where to find So & So:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Find more zines we’ve featured here.

Popshot’s Jacob Denno tells us more:

Popshot started as a mini rebellion against how poetry was presenting itself to the outside world and the musty, elitist and exclusive reputation it had managed to acquire. Poetry can be an amazing art form which when written well can move people in ways that other forms of literature can’t. I didn’t really think other poetry magazines were doing a good job of showing that, so Popshot became the vehicle to publish what has since been dubbed ‘pop poetry’ – poetry that’s a little more accessible and isn’t afraid of the odd rhyme here and there.

Aims from early days have definitely mellowed. In the early days it felt like Popshot was on a bit of a mission to change the reputation of poetry altogether, which isn’t such an easy task. I think it’s important for every new magazine to have a strong mission statement and define why it needs to exist, however, as time has gone by and Popshot has started to develop a reputation for itself as a publisher of new and interesting writing, the desire to continue preaching against the establishment has lessened somewhat. Nowadays, the focus is much more on making Popshot as good as it can be, rather than trying to convince people that poetry isn’t just for people who wear tweed jackets.

Being named as one of the ‘fresh breed of literary magazines’ by The Independent was a bit of a highlight, as well as being placed on The Observer’s ‘Cool List’ back in 2010. I’m not sure whether that makes it cool now though… Gaining international distribution into 18 countries was a pretty big achievement and knowing that Popshot can be found on the shelves of Barnes & Noble in Hawaii, or in a newsagents in Sao Paulo, never seems to wear thin!

Issue 7 has just come out so that’s pretty exciting to have created another issue that I’m super proud of. There are also changes afoot with the magazine as of Issue 8. I’ve had ideas circulating around my head for a long while as to where I want the magazine to go and hopefully this year that’ll happen. It won’t be anything super drastic but it will mean the magazine will become a little more refined and a little wider in terms of remit. I’ll stop talking before I give too much away!

People can get involved by heading to our website, and more specifically to the ‘submit’ page, then reading every word that’s on there. Popshot has an open policy which means we collate poetry on a submissions basis – so the most famous poet in the world is given the same amount of time and attention as the kid that just wrote their first poem. It’s all done on the individual merit of the poem. The illustrators however are individually commissioned so if you want to get involved, write us a nice email and send a link to your portfolio/website.

Depending on where you are in the world, there might be a bookshop nearby that stocks Popshot. You can find out if there is by heading to our stockists page. Alternatively, you can order any of our issues through the Popshot online shop. We ship to anywhere in the world so geographical distance is no boundary whatsoever.

Visit Popshot’s website here.
Find it on Facebook here.

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Find more zines we’ve featured here.